Biology Excel Book.... is it thorough? (1 Viewer)

[SophxMusic]

Hey guys, so I'm doing my HSC next year (2013), and am currently studying Advanced English, English Extension 1, English Extension 2, Advanced Maths, Biology, and Physics. I bought the Excel books for both Physics and Bio, and to me they look very good. I was wondering how thorough are they? Say, if I was (hypothetically) going to learn the course straight out of the book, would I know sufficient detail about everything, or would I miss parts? I know that using it as a backup to classwork is the recommended approach but my plan is to learn ahead so that class is cementing it all in, instead of introducing new information. So is excel (in both Physics and Biology) a detailed enough set of notes to learn from, or is it better as a 'gloss-over' for revision?
Thank you

 

[Alkanes]

I don't think they're that good. Better off learning more "detailed" stuff from a reputable textbook such as biology in focus/context etc. I would use them just for 'leisure' reading, as in just to skim read what you already know.

 

[madharris]

The excel book is great, however you shouldn't just rely on it.
Use other peoples notes (resources section or buy them) and textbooks to further increase your knowledge

 

[wavess]

The excel book is brief and straight to the point, but it is not as detailed as other text books (i compared the excel one to the bio in context book, and one dot point was explained in one whole page whereas in the excel book, it was only like 1/4 of a page.. if you get what i mean). I use it if I don't understand a particular syllabus dot point. Plus, if you want a band 6, you use a variety of sources.

 

[kwu1]

All I can say about Excel is that it functions as a summary just like Macquarie (green cover) Biology. It is meant to give you a skimmed view of the course. I would recommend Biology in Focus, it has information catered for each dot point, although at times it can be a bit too detailed.

 

[Rohanco]

I personally hate the excel books, especially for course like bio where they are so heavily content based, go for something more detailed, read over it and highlight key points, that will summarise the book for you, Excel cuts too much out. It's alright to have on the side while you study other books for bio, that's my opinion

 

[Rohanco]

All I can say about Excel is that it functions as a summary just like Macquarie (green cover) Biology. It is meant to give you a skimmed view of the course. I would recommend Biology in Focus, it has information catered for each dot point, although at times it can be a bit too detailed.

Yeah bio in focus is quite good

 

[Laughable]

Excel books should not be used as a basis for making notes. Try actual textbooks for notes and use Excel books for the revision questions.
I suggest Biology In Context and Biology in Focus.

 

[jnney]

Excel books should not be used as a basis for making notes. Try actual textbooks for notes and use Excel books for the revision questions.
I suggest Biology In Context and Biology in Focus.

+1

 

[SophxMusic]

thanks guys, I'm currently halfway through Maintaining a Balance and I've consolidated notes from Excel, Heinemann Biology and a few sets of Bored of Studies resource notes, as well as the Powerpoints that my teacher gave me that he teaches us from, so I think I'm doing fairly well. Thanks